Chapter 4

I hate overpasses. We've been stuck in traffic for a good fifteen minutes, and my acute acrophobia is acting up. We need to move, now. The rain has escalated into a storm, and has caused an accident further up. Our chauffer, who has requested to be called Mr. Rivers, assures us that it may be a while.

I look at Emma, seated next to her father, trying to occupy myself. She's only five years old, but already I can tell she'll be a knockout. She's beautiful, just like her mother. She looks almost as frightened as I do. I share an emotional connection with my niece and goddaughter. I only wish she was old enough to know what was going on with her Auntie Anne.

Looking at her, I notice a scar above her lip that wasn't there yesterday. I don't think I would've noticed if it weren't clumsily covered up. There is a patch of make-up two shades too dark: her mother's tone. I fear the worst, but I've been fearing the worst a lot lately. I turn away from her and file the information away for later, because I don't need more to worry about today.

We've been listening to oldie's songs since we left my mother's house. It is "Saturday in the '70's" today, and my mother wouldn't let Mr. Rivers even think about touching the dial. It's her favorite day of the week.

"God, I love this song." she says, closing her eyes as if reminiscing about the good old days, before all of her marriages. She begins to hum along, and the entire car looks at her like she belongs in a mental institution. Hell, maybe she does.

The radio's transmission fades, and my mother's emotions turn stern, as if to say "How are you shake me out of this daydream! I was actually happy!"

"Damn storm." She moans, scolding it.

The radio replies by spitting out garbled sentences. "Buy yours- have you- from seven- this isn't-" all accompanied by ear-splitting static. My wedding party holds their ears to block it out, but the garbled speech and whining screeches still seep through. Relief comes in the form of an old My Chemical Romance song. "We'll give them blood, blood, gallons of the stuff-"

"What the Hell is this? Switch it back!" she demands.

Mr. Rivers complies, but it only stays for a moment, slipping back into the bloodcurdling whine, and settling back into the song. "-it will never be enough-"

"Oh, just turn it off." My mother sighs, rubbing her temples. He obliges.

All of the sudden, I feel claustrophobic, dizzy. The entire limo is spinning and there's nothing to grab onto. Panic grips my stomach and refuses to let up. Nothing feels real.

"Anne," Kate says, concerned, "are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah." I reply. I try to focus on her face, on something definite, but it's impossible. I offer a weak smile. "I'm fine."

"Sure as Hell don't look fine."

Devin takes off his blindfold, causing the women in my family to gasp. "Baby, oh my God! Are you feeling okay?" He tries to force me to look at him, and I regain my sight. I feel a little better.

"Yes," I say, reassuring him, "I'm fine."

And at that moment, there is a rumbling, a force of tremendous power. Lightening strikes the concrete, singeing it. Yelps and screams reverberate through the car as I try to see, and cars try to maneuver through the traffic. A fissure opens in the middle, swallowing people. I scream, but there is no sound I am too terrified. I knew this would happen. I look to my father; I want him to tell me what to do. Do I flee? There is another quake, and a tremendous pillar hit's the front of the car. Warm, sticky blood splatters the windshield, and I am staring into the now dead eyes of Mr. Rivers. Emma lets out a scream that doesn't even sound human, and she opens the door, leaving the car. Her father follows, as does my sister, and soon Devin and I are the only ones left in the car. We share a glance, communicating telepathically. If we die today, we die together.

He grabs my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze as what's left of the overpass sways. I know in an instant it is going to collapse. My father is late to leave the car, and is killed by an explosion caused by a gas leak. We stumble away, no time to mourn, and run toward Ruth, who is gesturing for us.

"Guys! Anne! I know we can make it if we just-" And, in an instant, her young life is cut short by a falling piece of the overpass above, crushing her skull like a water balloon and falling to the road beneath the collapsing bridge. I can no longer stifle my screams. We keep running, witnessing one horrifying death after another. Some are crushed by falling cars, including my mother and Ronnie. Kurt dies soon after, being pushed off of the side by another person running for. It's funny how fast the human race can turn on each other.

My sister and her husband's fates are next, and are electrocuted by a metal railing as a rouge bolt of lightening again strikes. Emma just barely squeaks by, but is petrified, unable to move, a look of horror pasted to her face. It's just us now. Everyone else is dead. All we have in the world now is each other. I quickly grab her, holding her five-year-old body close to my chest so tightly she could fuse into me and I wouldn't complain. Devin grips my hand tighter, pulling Emma and I toward safety. We're almost home free.

I turn back just before the end to assess the damage, and as I do I utter a cry in mourning. Very few have survived this, and those who didn't suffered torturous deaths. It's over. I face toward the survivors. We've won.

"Anne!" Devin shouts, followed by a wet and sickening rip.

As I turn around, I hear a scream. It's Emma's… and my stomach drops.

Devin.

I whip my head back at a super-human speed, unable to fully comprehend the magnitude of what has occurred. I look down, and there, on the concrete, is my fiancé, the light of my life: dead. A shard of metal juts out from his belly and the middle of his neck, the blood spurting and spewing out to asphalt. Wet, hot tears fall down my face and join him. My brain fumbles to comprehend.

Devin gave his life to save mine. Those shards were meant for me.

Emma squirms out of my arms, falling to the road. He feet pound across to the corpse of my would-be husband and cradles his head in her small arms. I am not dead, but my soul is. I feel nothing.

I take small steps toward her, and I feel another quake. Before I can make a sound, the entire overpass collapses, swallowing her small frame with Devin's corpse. Everyone I knew, everyone I had, is gone in an instant. I am the only survivor.

"Oh, just turn it off." My mother sighs, rubbing her temples. Mr. Rivers obliges.